Re-usable carton



Jan. 21-, 1964 J- w. NADEAU RE-USABLE CARTON 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 16, 1961 Nmx N Nm INVENTOR.

MAMA-s 1K Mme-40 @Ma r hymen 7 Jan. 21, 1964 J. w. NADEAU REUSABLE CARTON 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filea May 16, 1961 0 R40. mm a m M V e m n W a. W 5 M M a g Y B 6 m 6 b n W a h. I 'A United States Patent 3,118,592 RE-USABLE CARTGN James W. Nadeau, Monroe, Mich, assignor to Monroe Paper Products Gompany, Monroe, Mich a corpora tion of Michigan Filed May 16, 196i, Ser. No. 110,554 1 Claim. (ill. 229-44) This invention relates to containers and, in particular, to re-usable cartons.

Hitherto, the cartons which have been used extensively for shipping bottled or canned goods, particularly beverage bottles or jars, such as beer bottles or canned goods in jars, have been subject to the disadvantage of rapid 'wear and structural failure if 1' -used repeatedly. Moreover, the damage to the carton by repeated re-use also results in damage to or breakage of the bottles or jars packed in the carton. Finally, in prior one-piece cartons where the cover is integral with the box portions, it has been found that the cover of the carton has become worn out long before the remainder of the carton has been damaged beyond possibility of re-use.

Accordingly, one object of this invention is to provide a re-usable carton or beverage containers or the like which will not only prevent breakage of or damage to the containers and consequent loss of their contents, but which will also be capable of repeated re-use, with a resultant lowering of the cost of packaging.

Another object is to provide a re-usable carton of the foregoing character wherein the cover is made separate from the box in which the containers are packed, so that the cover can be cheaply and easily replaced when it becomes unfit for further use, while the box continues to be used after the old cover has been replaced by a new one.

Another object is to provide a re-usable carton according to the preceding objects wherein the cover consists of a pair of removable and replaceable oppositely-opening cover halves, each consisting of a supporting panel which is inserted in the box and a closure panel hinged to the supporting panel for swinging motion between open and closed positions relatively to the box.

Another object is to provide a re-usable carton of the foregoing character wherein the box has end members consisting of parallel outer and inner panels interconnected by a V-shaped trough portion which, when the outer and inner panels are folded fiat against one another, forms a pocket or recess adapted to receive edge tabs on the end edges of the closure panel of each cover half, thereby securely holding the cover half in its closed position.

Another object is to provide a re-usable carton of the foregoing character wherein the closure panels of the cover half also have longitudinal tabs, the opposite ends of which enter notches in the tops of the inner end panels while elsewhere frictionally engaging one another so as to further enhance maintaining them releasably in closed positions.

Another object is to provide a re-usable carton of the foregoing character including the foregoing box and cover halves, and a subdivider which holds the end panels of the box in their folded condition and at the same time retains the supporting panels of the cover halves in their inserted positions.

Another object is to provide a re-usaole carton of the foregoing character wherein the closure panels of the cover halves can be swung upward into the same vertical planes with t ieir respective supporting panels, whereupon the entire cover half can then be pushed downward into a storage position almost entirely received within the box unit and held in that position by the subdivider and the vertical edges of the inner end panels.

aliases Patented Jan. 21, 1%54:

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a re-usable carton, according to one form of the invention, with one of the closure panels partly inserted in its storage position and the other closure panel raised to its folding position, with bot-h cover halves in their open positions;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view similar to FIGURE 1, but with the farther cover half raised entirely out of and separate from the box, with arrows showing the direction 1and location of insertion of the supporting panel into the -ox;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan View of the box with the cover halves removed;

FIGURE '4 is an enlarged longitudinal section through the box taken along the line 4-4 in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a vertical cross-section through the approximate midportion of the box, taken along the line 5-5 in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a vertical cross-section between the outer and inner end panels of the box end, taken along the line 66 in FlGURE 4; and

FIGURE 7 is a perspective View of a slightly modified cover half from that shown in FIGURES l and 2.

Referring to the drawings in detail, FIGURES 1 and 2 show a re-usable carton, generally designated 10, constructed of cardboard, fiberboard, corrugated paper board or the like and consisting generally of a box 12 containing a subdivider l4 and closed by a cover 16 consisting of two oppositely-folding cover halves 18 removably inserted in the box 12. The box 12 in turn consists of a combined side-and-bottom wall, generally designated 20, secured to a pair of longitudinally-spaced end walls, generally designated 22.

The combined side-and-bottorn wall 2% is formed from sheet material bent along lower longitudinal bending lines or folds 24 (FIGURES 5 and 6) into a bottom panel 26 with narrow end flaps or tabs 28 and a pair of outer side panels 3% with end flaps or tabs 32, and along upper longitudinal bending or fold lines 34 to form reinforcing inner side panels 36 (FIGURE 5). The subdivider 14 is provided with cross panels 33 spaced apart from one another and held in spaced parallel relationship by longitudinal subdivider panels 40 (FIGURE 3). As in conventional subdividers for egg cartons and the like, the cross panels 38 have notches or slots (not shown) extending halfway upward from their bottom edges which interlock with corresponding notches or slots (not shown) extending halfway downward from the upper edges of the longitudinal panels 49 in a manner familiar to those skilled in the carton art. By this means, the subdivider 14- divides the interior of the box 12 into a multiplicity of compartments 42 adapted to receive bottles, jars or other containers.

Each end wall 22 (FIGURE 4) consists of outer and inner panels 44 and 46 connected to one another at their upper edges at fold lines 48 and 54 by reversely-bent narrow panels 52 and 54 which in turn are arranged in V- shaped relationship and connected to one another at their lower edges along a fold line 56 to form a trough-shaped pocket or recess 58 extending the entire width of the box 12. The narrow inner panel 54 and the adjacent upper portion of the inner panel 4e are slotted in alignment to provide a notch 61 (FIGURE 5) having a width approximately equal to twice the thickness of each cover half 16. The out r and inner panels 44 and 46 of the end members 22 extend the full height of the box 12 and the outer panels 44 are secured to the bottom and side flaps 23 and 32 (FIGURES 1 and 2) in any suitable manner, such as by staples 62.

The outer and inner panels 44 and 46 of the end walls 22 near their upper edges 48 and d are provided with aligned hand holes 634 for convenience of handling the carton 1d. The end walls 22 at the opposite ends of the lower fold line 'ss at the lower edges of the narrow panels 52 and 54 forming the recess 58 are provided at their opposite edges with inwardly-extending notches 66 (FIG- URES 3 and 6) disposed near the inside corners of the box 12.

Each cover half 18 of the cover 16 includes a vertical supporting panel 68 with a lower edge 69' and a closure panel 79 integral with the supporting panel 63 and hinged relatively thereto along a fold line 72. The cover half 13 along the three remaining sides of the closure panel 70 is provided with end flaps (FIGURE 2) and a longitudinal center flap 76, the fiaps 74 and 76 being bent perpendicular to their common cover panel "it? along fold lines 73 and 80 respectively. The flaps 74 and 76 have oblique ends 82 and 84 respectively for facilitating insertion and removal, as described below in connection with the use of the invention. Each closure panel 70 is provided with a central finger hole 86 for convenience in raising the panel 7t) from its closed position to its open position.

The modified cover half, generally designated 9%, shown in FIGURE 7 is generally similar to the cover halves 13 shown in FIGURES l and 2 and is for the same purpose of closing the top opening 88 in the box 12. The modified cover half 9% however, consists of supporting and closure panels 92 and 9 5- hinged to one another along a fold line 9s. The closure panel 94 has end flaps 98 which are provided with end projections 3% formed at right angles thereto and secured as by staples 22 to the opposite ends of the longitudinal flap 104. Similarly, the supporting panel 92 has end flaps 1% bent perpendicularly thereto, the flaps 93 and 106 having oblique ends 108 and 110 adjacent the fold line 96. A finger hole 112 is provided, as before, for convenience in raising each closure panel 94.

In the use of the carton equipped with the cover halves 18, the inner panels 46 of the end members 22 are pushed outward in opposite directions against the outer panels 44 (FIGURES 3 and 4) while the subdividcr 14- is inserted in the box 12 through the top opening 38 thereof. The inner panels 46 are then released, but are held in their folded positions by the opposite ends of the longitudinal subdivider panels 46* (FIGURE 3).

Each cover half 18 of the cover 16 is then installed in the box 12 by inserting the lower edge 6% of its supporting panel 63 in the space 114 (FIGURE 5) between the inner side flaps 36 and the ends of the subdivider cross pan ls 38, the spring or resilience of the inner side panels 36 against the supporting panels as holding the supporting panels 68 frictionally in position. If the cover half 28 is intended to be closed, the supporting panel 92 is pushed downward into its respective space 114 only until the fold line 96 reaches the fold line 34 at the level of the top opening 33 of the box 12. If, however, it is desired to hold the cover halves 18 in their open positions (FIGURE 1), the downward pushing action on the upper flap the of each closure panel 94 is continued until a portion of the closure panel 914 also enters the space 114 adjacent the inner side panels 36, as shown at the lefthand side of FIGURES 1 and 2.

To close the cover halves '18, the user raises the cover halves 18 from their storage positions by grasping the upper portion of each closure panel 7% between the thumb and forefinger and pulling upward until the fold line 72 of each cover half 18 arrives adjacent the fold line 34 between the outer and inner side panels 3-9 and 36. The closure panel 78 of each cover half 18 is then swung downward around its fold line 7 2 toward the opposite cover half 18, while the operator guides the end flaps 74 into the pockets or recessed 53 betv een the outer and inner end panels 44 and 46 while guiding the ends of the longitudinal flaps 7d into their respective notches 6d. The frictional engagement of the end portions of the longitudinal flaps 76 within the notches 60, in cooperation with the frictional engagement of the narrow outer and inner panels 52 and 5% against the end flaps 74, securely but eleasably hold the closure panels 79 in their horizontal positions closing the top opening 38 of the box 12.

The modified cover half is inserted and used in the same manner as that described above for the cover half 13, with the exception of the fact that the additional end flaps 156 of the supporting panels 92 pass through the end notches as near the inside corners of the box 12 and adjacent the fold lines 56 and are frictionally held thereby.

What I claim is:

A re-usahle carton, comprising a box having a bottom wall, opposite side walls and opposite end walls defining an enclosure with an access opening at the top thereof, and a separate cover including a pair of cover halves, each cover half having a substantially vertical supporting panel removably mounted in said box adjacent one side wall thereof and a closure panel of a width narrower than the width or" said access opening having a hinged connection to its respective supporting panel, said closing panels of said cover halves having a combined Width equal approximately to the width of said access opening and swingable relatively to their respective supporting panels into and out of closing relationship with said access opening, said connecting panels having end notches therein adjacent the opposite ends thereof near the inside corners of said box and said supporting panels at their opposite ends having vertically-disposed end flaps therein disposed sub stantially perpendicular to said supporting panels and passing through said end notches and lying adjacent said opposite end walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 902,149 Farrell Oct. 27, 1963 1,026,463 Stluka Mar. 19, 1912 1,647,924 Fenlason Dec. 19, 1912 1,976,530 Verhoven Oct. 9, 1934 2,409,673 Glascoir et al. Oct. 22, 1946 2,477,902 Scandore Aug. 2, 1949 2,917,220 Bostock Dec. 15, 1959 2,935,221 Mitchell et al May 3, 1960 

